The summer of 2025 I sought out to compose a new work for orchestra. I don’t know exactly what I wanted to write originally, however I knew the sounds I wanted. As I was falling asleep one night I distinctly remember hearing music in my head. From what I recall it was light and ethereal with metallic sounds, something very delicate. The next day, I began developing textures and ideas that would eventually beca the foundation of this new piece. After some time, however, I got stuck. I had no idea where the music needed to go. I took a break, and during that time, I came across a poem by W.S. Merwin titled The Morning Hills. Something about this poem struck me in a very personal way. It had given me a feeling of peace in a time I wasn’t expecting. I knew I wanted to capture this feeling with my work The Morning Hills. This work is in two sections, to put it simply the first section is dark and is intended to capture the feeling of being lost. The second section is where the music finds itself with a sense of optimism and hope. It’s hard to put one single meaning to this piece, over all it is not programatic to any specific events. Perhaps it can be about finding peace in a time of darkness or even something as simple as watching the sun breach the hills in the morning bringing light to a new day.